What's The Face-Morphing Game In 'House Of Cards?' Frank & Claire's Latest Addiction Is So Symbolic

If you’ve been following House Of Cards since the very beginning, you know that President Frank Underwood is a gamer. He spent his nights as the Minority Whip unwinding with Call Of Duty, and tried his hand at the popular indie darling Monument Valley in Season 3. In Season 5, it seems like he's found a way to incorporate gameplay into his presidential race — and you can download the face morph app from House Of Cards for yourself. (Spoilers for Episodes 1 and 2 of House Of Cards Season 5 ahead!)

Frank’s latest toy first appears at the top of this season’s second episode, where he’s seen playing around with pictures of him and Claire in an attempt to fuse the two together. It’s unclear why he’s doing this, although it appears to have something to do with the campaign; upon entering the room, Claire says, "It’s just about making the candidate seem familiar, so that the voter sees herself in him," and adjusts the picture so it’s an exact blend, giving Frank a subtle, softer appearance. Maybe they think posting the results of a viral app on social media will humanize them — or perhaps they’re legitimately hoping to pass combination off as an authentic picture of Frank. Either way, it’s a very interesting way to get attention on the campaign trail.

Nobody ever says the name of this face morphing tool out loud, so it’s possible that the very specific interface Frank is using is a fictional creation of the House Of Cards design team. However, there are a lot of face slider apps out there on the market, and the FaceFilm app in particular looks remarkably similar to what Frank is playing with. Here's how it appears on my iPhone:

Netflix/FaceFilm

Clearly the Underwoods have splurged on the $4.99 pro version of the FaceFilm app, which I have not. However, if you can stand looking at ads and ending up with a photo that features the FaceFilm watermark, the free version will probably suit your own morphing purposes nicely. The app also allows you to create slideshows, though you’ll have to upgrade to the pro version if you want to be able to add your own music.

The idea of combining Frank and Claire into one person is a very fascinating tie-in to one of the major theme of this season: that Claire has finally become a full partner in Frank’s Machiavellian scheming, and the two stand united in their quest for power. Watching them claw their way to the top together is half of what makes this season of House Of Cards so interesting — and so terrifying.